H2O: Just Add Mermen
by mermaidhotty
Summary: On the fateful night of a blue moon, the mermaids and their boyfriends experience something none of them thought possible. Now as they struggle with the consequences they find that life has more in store for them than ever before. What lies ahead? One thing is certain: life as a mermaid is never dull. Emma, Cleo, Rikki, Bella, Ash, Lewis, Zane and Will. Has elements of season 3.
1. Blue Moon Mermaids

**H2O: Just Add Mermen**

***Takes place during season 3 however Emma and her family never left but Bella has joined the group so there are 4 of them. They all have their boyfriends (who all know they're mermaids) and the problems with Rikki and Zane have all be resolved so that they are still a tight couple and Lewis has not gone to America.***

It started out as a day like all others before it and presumably how all others after it would have been. That was before the moon went all screwy on them. Lewis still kept a close eye on the moon patterns – most of the time. Now-a-days it seemed though that the moon effect was gone. Bella, Emma, Rikki and Cleo figured that they had gotten over the effects of the moon. That once they had faced it they had taken control of that part of their mermaid lives. But Lewis didn't realize the moon still had surprise in store for them. Certain events that none of them could have seen coming.

Rikki and Zane had been at the Café as usual, running things. Bella was with the band, including Lewis, practicing songs for that night's crowd. Emma and Ash were at her house doing homework, and Will is off practicing his free-diving, ever trying to catch up to his amazing mermaid girlfriend. As the day progressed they all met up for lunch, discussing the latest gossip at school, all the homework they had to do, or had already done. Just a typical average day.

Lewis was on his laptop, poking around at different things.

"Lewis, we haven't done a check on the moon in a while." Rikki sat next to Zane, who was playing with her hair. "Mind looking at it for us?"

With a small exasperated huff, he pulled up the once frequently visited sites. "The moon, as you are already well aware, is tonight." He paused. That was new.

Emma automatically perked up. "What is it Lewis? It's just an ordinary moon, right?"

Cleo got her usual look of worry. "Lewis?"

Bella and Will were just confused. Until recently Bella had not even realized the moon could have such an effect on mermaids. She figured at some point it must have done the same thing to her, but she had been a mermaid for so long she probably got over it years ago. And Will had never experienced moonstruck mermaids before. Both of them felt a small sense of dread enter the pits of their stomach. And Ash, being the smart guy he was, was just going to let the girls handle it. They knew what to do and he didn't want to interfere.

As Lewis stayed quiet Zane began to get agitated. "Come on man. Is there something wrong with the moon tonight?"

Lewis looked up at the group, a slight downcast in his eyes. "I'm not really sure. Apparently it's a blue moon tonight. And I don't remember Miss Chatam ever mentioning it before." He gulped. "It could just be like any other moon, or it could affect you guys."

Cleo sighed. "Which means we will be staying in tonight, right?"

Emma nodded. "There's no sense in risking it. I don't want to get moonstruck. Especially if it's going to make me tired for tomorrow's test."

"Aren't we being a bit dramatic about this?" Rikki announced after rolling her eyes at Emma. "We haven't been moonstruck in months now. What's to say that this is going to be any different?"

"I'm going to agree with Rikki on this." Bella looked around a little nervous. "I don't remember ever being moonstruck before. And I'm sure there must have been some other blue moon since I became a mermaid. Wouldn't I have noticed myself acting strange? I don't think we really have any reason to worry over this."

Cleo thought that over. "That's true." Then she turned to Emma. "I'm sure Bella and Rikki are right. It's just a second full moon this month. There's no reason that should make it any different from all the others. We probably have nothing to worry about."

Lewis wasn't convinced. "I don't know. Blue moons happen every few years." He looked over at Bella. "And no offense, but you've never had another mermaid around to tell you if you've acted weird." He looked at all of them again. "Plus there hasn't been one since you other three became mermaids. I just think we should use some caution towards this. At least until we know the affects it will have."

Ash finally piped up. "I think you girls need to listen to him." Will nodded. "I don't want to see any of you getting hurt."

Zane gazed down at Rikki. "Whatever you decide. It is your decision after all."

Rikki ran her hand down her face in frustration. "Why don't we all just think about this for a bit? The moon doesn't show for a few hours. How about we all get together at say Emma's house in two hours and decide then what we'll do after we've all thought about it?"

Bella looked at her odd. Rikki wasn't normally the rational one.

"Until then, I'm going for a swim with Zane to the moon pool." She stood up, pulling her boyfriend with her. "See you all then."

And with that they left. Bella sighed. She should have known.

It was two hours later. Rikki, Zane, Bella, Will, Emma, Ash, Cleo and Lewis were all gathered at Emma's house. Her dad and mom were out for the moment, taking Eliot over to a friend's house and then heading out for a date.

"I still think we should moon proof the house and then have you girls stay in." Lewis was not going to budge on this.

"Come on Lewis. It's just a second moon. I really don't think it's going to have any effect on us." Rikki folded her arms, pacing across the floor.

"I agree. From what I can tell there isn't any reason we should worry." Bella added. She sat on the couch, curled up next to Will.

"You have to think about it Lewis." Emma was sitting on Ash's lap. "If it was going to affect us you think Miss Chatam would have said something at some point or another."

"Sorry Lewis. But I don't think we need to worry." Cleo folded her arms, the point obviously decided.

Lewis sighed. "Fine. But if you girls end up moonstruck and create havoc, I am not going to clean up your mess after you."

Ash gave out a laugh. "Come on man, it can't be that bad."

There was an awkward pause.

Zane, not liking the silence, decided it was time for them to go do something. He and Rikki had never made it to the moonpool. Zane had gotten a call from Sophie saying they were needed at the Café for a bit. They were just barely able to make it over to Emma's house in time.

"Why don't we just all head to the moon pool?"

Lewis rolled his eyes. Did Zane just purposely try not to get it sometime?

Zane noticed the obvious looks of bewilderment. "It makes sense. The girls obviously don't want to be in lockdown tonight, and none of us guys seem willing to let them out of our sights."

"That's actually a really good idea." Ash smiled over at Emma. "What do you think?"

Before she could respond Bella piped in. "Sounds good to me." She pulled Will up with her. "Let's go."

The boys were crowded into Zane's Zodiac while the girls lead in the water. They were all laughing and having fun, but a sense of nervousness still dwelt in some of them. Lewis was still convinced that something bad was going to happen, but Cleo and the other three didn't seem worried at all. And he knew from experience that when a mermaid had made up their mind about something, it was easier to pull teeth than try to convince them otherwise.

At the moonpool the boys sat on the floor and the girls staid in the water.

They hadn't been there for more than half an hour when the moon first started to show over the tip of the volcano that harbored the moon pool. Lewis knew something was off when the moon light hit the pool and the bubbles began to show. Except instead of the normal gold bubbles and flakes, these strange green strands of light began to lift up from the water.

"Hey guys?" Everyone turned to look at where he was pointing.

"Get the girls out of the water!" Zane was the first to react to the strange phenomenon.

Rikki had already partially pulled herself out and Zane and Ash pulled her out the rest of the way. Emma was next, followed by Cleo and then Bella. As soon as Bella was fully out of the water the moon pool went out of control.

They watched, helpless as the green ribbons of light lifted up and began swirling all over the cave. And then the water level began to rise. As it lapped over onto the dry ground of the sandy floor, Lewis knew they were in trouble.

"We need to get out of here!" Will tried to lift up Bella, but the weight of her tail made her too heavy.

Before they knew it the water was up to the boys calves and the girls were being wrapped in the green light. Each boyfriend reached out for their mermaid, not wanting anything to happen. As soon as the human boy was touching the mermaid, the green light transferred to them.

Lewis gasped as he was surrounded and covered in the strange green glow. He looked over and watched the same thing happen to Will, Ash and Zane. Bella, Cleo, Emma and Rikki watched helplessly as the green ribbons began to pull all the boys into the heart of the pool.

"Lewis!" Cleo tried to grab Lewis and pull him back, but the green light wouldn't let her move.

Emma tried the same thing with the same results.

"Will!" As Bella called out the strange green light around the boys began to change to the familiar gold color.

Rikki began to panic. "Zane! You need to get out of there!"

"Try to resist it Ash!" Emma knew those gold bubbles. That was the same thing they had seen the night they became mermaids.

But try as they might, the boys couldn't pull away. Seconds later they were wrapped up in the gold bubbles as the moon centered over the moon pool. Lewis felt a strange feeling flow through him. Like a surge of energy. Will held his breathe as the water surrounded him, not fully understanding what was going on. But a little voice in the back of his mind kept whispering to him that he was somehow changing. Zane's eyes went big as he watched the gold bubbles rise into the moon lit air. This was it. He knew there was no way they were going to come out of this unscathed. And Ash was trying to block it all out. Maybe if he didn't think about it, it wouldn't really be happening.

After a breathtaking moment the moon continued on its path and the moon pool returned to the calm serenity it was normally at. The water level was normal, there were no mysterious bubbles. Only four mermaids and their four bewildered human boyfriends.

Everyone stared around, a tense feeling passing from one to the other.

"I say we go back to Lewis's idea and head to my house." Emma glanced at everyone else.

And, of course, they were all too eager to agree.

***DUN, DUN, DUN! Cliffhanger! Let me know what you guys think. There are way too few stories on here of the boys from H2O being turned into mermen, and I have always loved the idea. Next chapter soon – probably sooner if I get reviews. (hint hint) Thanks again!***


	2. Heads or Tails?

**First things first: Thank You so much for the reviews!**

**H2o25: Glad you like the idea!**

**lyokodreamer: Hope that this chapter does not disappoint.**

**As I should have included in the first chapter, I do not own H2O or any of the characters, just this idea. If I owned it, the boys would already be mermen. : ) Enjoy!**

The house was dead silent as they all stared at each other. The boys were on one couch and the girls were standing around, trying to decide what to do.

Ash couldn't take the silence anymore. "Does someone want to explain what happened back there?"

Will looked at Bella and could see the dread in her eyes. "Why did the moon pool act like that?"

Silence.

Will stood up and walked over to Bella. "We need to know what happened."

Bella couldn't look up from her feat. How were they supposed to confirm what the guys were thinking?

"Look. There's only one conclusion any of us can come up with right now." Rikki played with her braid as she stared at Zane. "But in all likeness it's probably not right." She looked away. "Probably."

Cleo stared at Lewis. He was uncharacteristically being quiet. She could see that pensive look on his face. He was thinking hard about something and she wanted to know what.

"Lewis?" He looked startled as he looked up to her voice. "What do you think?"

The quiet mutterings that had been going on disappeared as everyone turned their attention to the young scientist. He looked around, running a hand through his hair. How was he supposed to tell them? He had more than enough experience with the moonpool. And he had gotten accounts from all the girls many times of what happened that night that they became mermaids. He didn't need to be a scientist to know what had happened not even an hour ago.

He looked around, noticing the anxious and nervous faces. "I think we all know what happened. There is no point in trying to deny it."

Will was furious. "Deny what? That the moon pool went crazy? That something has happened to us and we don't know what?"

Ash walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. "You don't see it do you?"

Will brushed him off. "Can someone please clue me in?"

Bella grabbed his hand and looked up into his face. "Do you remember that day you found out I was a mermaid?" He nodded. "Remember how I told you what happened in Ireland? How I changed?"

They all watched the gears move in his head. Will's eyes grew wide and then his face fell into a look of anger. "No." He shook his head. "Absolutely not."

Zane looked over at Lewis. "You sure?" Lewis nodded. "There's no way you could be wrong?" Lewis shook his head, causing Zane to sigh. "Then there's only one thing to say."

Everyone looked at him. Rikki grabbed his hand. "You guys are going to be mermen."

-h-2-o-

Emma woke up in the morning and almost wished she could just fast forward to the next day. The events of the previous night came flooding back and she frowned. As soon as Rikki had voiced what everyone was thinking the room had erupted into chaos. Emma and Ash were trying to calm down Will, who kept going off on how his life was ruined. Zane was trying to figure out how to keep such a huge secret from his dad. He knew about mermaids. What would happen to them if he ever found out? Cleo was hugging Lewis, trying to keep him from getting too depressed. He had always been fascinated by the girl's mermaidness, but that didn't mean he ever wanted to experience such a thing himself.

In the end everyone had gone home exhausted and with a promise to meet up around eight the next morning at the Café. The girls told the boys not to touch water until they met up again. The first time was always a shock. Plus it was best if they proved the theory at the ocean rather in a bathtub.

_-h-2-o-_

Rikki lay in her bed as her alarm beeped annoyingly on her dresser. She didn't want to leave. If she got up it meant she would have to face Zane and the others. After Will's reaction the night before she didn't know how they would all be feeling once they had a chance to think it over. She knew Lewis wasn't taking it too well. He had been the first to be let in on the mermaid secret. Never in a million years had he thought he would be part of the secret. She almost felt bad for him.

But at the same time she couldn't help but feel excited. Rikki had always felt that the boys were left out. Most of the time when they went out swimming, the boys were left on the beach to talk, while the girls explored the ocean. But now, she realized, the boys would be able to join them. They would be able to finally show them their side of the ocean. Sure Will knew some of it. But so much more opened up to you when you didn't need goggles or have to hold your breath.

_-h-2-o-_

Ash, Emma, Rikki, Zane, Bella, Will and Cleo stood in front of the Café, waiting for Lewis to show up. Cleo had called and he said he was just running a bit late but he would be there soon. An awkward silence had fallen among them. They knew what they had to do, but no one was about to say it.

Fifteen minutes later they were all at Lewis's old private fishing spot. It had become their unofficial meeting place. Cleo had gotten a call that Lewis was going to meet them there. Sure enough he had been sitting on a rock, gazing out at the water when they all showed up. He didn't acknowledge them at first, but they had been pretty quiet. Lewis finally looked up.

"Hey." He went over to Cleo and kissed her cheek.

"Is everyone ready?" Zane dropped the towels had had been carrying. Ash followed suite and they all walked towards the water's edge.

The waves lapped just out of reach and no one seemed to want to get in first.

"Why don't us girls go first?" Emma looked up at Ash. "No sense in all of us changing at the same time."

Rikki nodded. "That would just be a mess of tails."

"And that way we can help you too." Bella grasped Will's hand and gave him a quick kiss.

Bella, Cleo, Emma and Rikki waded into the water a few feet and ten seconds later, like clockwork, they were falling into the water. They swam closer to the shore, ready for the boys to make their move.

But they didn't budge.

"How should we do this?" Zane looked over at Lewis. "One at a time or all at once?"

"All at once would be best." Lewis stared at the water in apprehension.

"Yeah, that way no one can chicken out." Will looked like he was ready to bolt at any second.

"Alright, on the count of three." Ash took a step forward and the others followed. "One," another step forward. "Two," they were almost to the waves. "And three!"

Lewis held his breath as they felt the waves wash over their feet and up to their ankles.

Cleo started counting quietly. "One, two, three…"

Zane joined in. "Four, five, six…"

Lewis finished it up out loud. "Seven, eight, nine…"

"Ten!" As the three of them reached the final count the boys felt a strange sensation overcome them.

Ash couldn't describe the feeling. It was like a surge of energy and power. He looked down and felt his mouth drop as his body turned into a mass of bubbles and water.

Lewis watched in awe and gasped as the power of the change flowed through him. Then his body turned into water and bubbles and he couldn't help but gasp again. This was it.

Zane wanted to curse as his body solidified from water and he looked down where his legs and feet should have been and wanted to scream to the heavens. This could not be happening. Not to him. His dad was going to kill him.

Will kept his eyes closed as the sense of power and energy flowed through him. It was when he felt himself lose balance that his eyes flew open as he hit the water. All four boys landed with a splash. Will was the first to recover, pushing himself up on his hands and shaking the water off his face, staring into the waves. He looked over at Ash who was struggling to flip over onto his stomach and prop himself onto his elbows.

"Is everyone okay?" Ash looked over at the other three.

Lewis was trying to pull himself up onto the beach, surprised at how hard it was when he didn't have legs to help. Zane seemed to be in shock, staring back at his tail and not moving at all.

Will watched Lewis make slow progress, but he never made it fully out of the waves. Lewis collapsed in exhaustion, the water still covering most of his tail.

The girls staid back as they watched. A mix of emotions ran through them as they watched their boyfriends fall into the surf. Cleo couldn't stand it anymore and swam over to where Lewis had given up. She placed a hand on his back in sympathy and he stared up into her eyes.

"I don't want this," he told her. "How am I going to be able to go fishing if I can't even touch the water? Fish are covered in water!"

Cleo rested her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arm around the other one. "I know. But you'll get used to it, you'll see. It's really a good thing."

While Cleo was trying to comfort Lewis the other three had swum up to their boyfriends. Emma began to tug Ash farther into the water, helping him get used to the way his tail moved.

Rikki was with Zane, admiring his tail that he didn't know whether to despise or enjoy. All four of the mermen had orange looking tails like the mermaids, but maybe a bit darker and more gold in color. Zane liked gold; he couldn't help but think that his tail made him look a bit regal. Smiling at him Rikki helped him as they followed Emma and Ash farther out.

Will and Bella were already on their way to the moon pool. As soon as Will had realized everyone was okay he had gone over to join Bella, a big smile plastered onto his face. Bella was a little surprised. She knew how against the idea Will had been. But now that he was half fish and in the water, he seemed to be enjoying it as much as possible.

"This is incredible!" He grabbed her hands and stared with earnest into Bella's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me the power and control you feel in the water?"

Bella just laughed. "I've been like this since I was nine." Bella rested her head against his chest. "I hardly remember anything different."

Will realized that his position on the whole idea had done a complete circle. But now that he was in the situation, he saw this as an amazing gift. His whole life he had been training to dive and hold his breath. People had told him over and over again he was like a fish when in the water. He gave a silent laugh to himself. Now he really was. He could feel all the muscles in his tail, the way in pulled at the currents and worked to move him around in the water. It was amazing. He had no other word to describe it. And he had the most amazing girl and mermaid in the world to share the ocean with. He didn't think he could ever be happier than he was at that point.

As the other three couples made their way to the moon pool, Cleo was still trying to coax Lewis to get into the water and embrace it. But he flat out didn't want to.

"Come on Lewis. I would think you would take this as an opportunity to do research." Cleo only got a funny look in return from him. "Admit it. For the last two and a half years you've only been able to experience the magic from the outside. Now's your chance to finally see what it's like from our perspective."

Lewis still didn't budge. He knew he was in denial. And he acknowledged the fact that Cleo was right. But his mind was having the hardest time wrapping itself around the idea that he, himself, was now a merman. That he probably even had his own unique power, just like the girls. The implications of it were just too much for him to handle at the moment.

Cleo, seeing that she was making no progress with Lewis, decided to take things to the next step. Lewis needed to come with her. He needed to experience it. She knew that hiding from it and trying to avoid it was not a good way to live. She would have missed out on so much if she hadn't decided two years ago to embrace her mermaid side.

Swimming a bit out from where Lewis lay, she turned and began to focus her magic on him. Her hand twisted in the air as she controlled the pocket of water Lewis was resting in and began to pull it her direction. As the water began to move under him, Lewis turned to look over at Cleo in shock and maybe a little bit of anger.

"Cleo! What are you doing?" Lewis tried to pull out of the water but Cleo kept wrapping it around him.

"You need to face this. I know you, Lewis. You're not one to run and hide. You've helped me so many times when I've needed it, now I'm doing the same for you." Cleo released him from the water when he was resting next to her and dropped her control.

Once the hold was gone, Lewis sank into the water, unable to keep himself afloat at the top. But after a second of floundering he had his head back above the surface, a scowl written across his features.

"I don't know about this Cleo." He looked out towards the distant speck that was the island their friends had probably already arrived at.

She wrapped her fingers through his and gave him a sweet smile. "Where's your sense of adventure?" Giving him a soft kiss she pulled him under the surface and they started a slow reassuring swim towards Mako.

_-h-2-o-_

**So what do ya think? I know I didn't describe what they look like in the greatest of detail, but I figured I should save that for a later chapter when Lewis decides to start doing research on the differences between a mermaid and a merman. Reviews are love, and encourage faster fingers on the keyboard. Thank you all so much for reading! Laters!**


	3. Water' Dillema

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry this has taken me so long to put up. These past few months have just been crazy. But thank you for your patience!**

**To start off, I do not own H2O or its characters, previous stories and any other things I have no right owning. But oh how I wish I did. I quickly want to give a shout out to my lovely reviewers-**

_**H2OGirl101**_**: I'm glad you like it! I'm hoping I can stay true to personalities. Each guy definitely has their own opinion on the matter. We'll just have to wait and see.**

_**lyokodreamer**_**: Thank you again for your reviews. : )**

_**H2o25**_**: I don't know if I've quite decided that yet. Definitely something different from the girls. But at the same time I don't want them to be too weird. We'll see. ^^'**

_**x Dark Lady x**_**: I haven't seen any stories with the same idea, can you tell me where? I would LOVE to read them. As for the powers I don't want to give anything away. Ya'll just have to read to find out! Thanks for the review!**

_**csweeney, sadnessgirl123, and death raye**_**: I'm so glad you like it!**

**Now onto the next part of our story! Will the boys be able to adjust, or will they realize it's harder being part fish than it appears?**

_-h-2-o-_

Lewis sat on a forgotten dock, one of the few places he still had left to be alone when fishing. Except today he wasn't doing any fishing. His tackle box and pole lay next to him, almost completely forgotten. It had now been 32 hours and 17 minutes since the blue moon. And he was not adapting to it well. Cleo had called him early that morning, only a couple hours ago really. She wanted him to go swimming with her. But Lewis had claimed he had projects he was working on. In truth he just wasn't ready to throw himself into that life just yet. He'd already had to face his tail that morning when he took a shower. He had no intention of seeing it again so soon.

So there he sat with his dilemma. Let go of his human life, or try to ignore what has happened to them. And Lewis wasn't really one for denial. Ever since he had accepted that there was magic in the world, his list of things he was positive about had shrunk. So now when he was given such choices he had to think about them for a bit longer.

He sat there for a couple hours more, thinking, wondering, and dreading the decision he had come to. And then Will showed up. Not by the normal path Lewis had taken, but in the water in front of where he sat.

"Cleo said I might find you here." Will swam up to the dock and pulled himself up so he could rest his chin on his folded arms on the planks.

Lewis nodded. He could never hide from Cleo for very long. She knew him too well.

"You been here a while?" Will brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Lewis nodded. "Ever since she called me this morning." Lewis kept his steady gaze out towards the water.

Silence stretched out between them. Will simply didn't know how to approach the subject. He knew Lewis wasn't comfortable with any of this. It just seemed that Lewis wanted to have nothing to do with their new situation.

"Why did you come instead of her?" Lewis looked down at him finally.

"Because I figured you'd want a guy to talk to instead. You've got three other people going through the same thing. It's also bonus that we happen to be your friends. You shouldn't be turning away from us." He paused. "Plus Cleo got stuck watching Kim for the day while her dad went out with her step-mom."

Lewis had to smile at that. Cleo was always getting stuck with that less than desirable chore.

The silence mounted again and more relevant matters entered into Lewis's thought stream.

"Tell me something, Will." Lewis rubbed a hand through his hair. "You were the most against this out of all of us. And now you seem all into it, like this is the best thing that could have ever happened to you. What changed?"

Will didn't even have to think about that one. "This is amazing for me. I've been swimming my whole life. Trying to hold my breath longer and longer. I've always wanted to feel the power and strength in the water that comes to the girls so easily. Maybe I would have preferred it came in another form other than a fish tail, but it's still good. I feel so at home in the water. I can't imagine going back at this point."

There was no response Lewis could come up with that would make Will see how weird that sounded. Hadn't he ever heard of scuba diving?

"You know," Will continued, "you could find something good in this too."

Lewis scoffed. "Like what?"

"Think of it as a chance to spend more time with our girlfriends. There's this whole other side to them we finally get to see." Will pushed himself off the dock. "Come on man. You've never given up an opportunity to experience something new."

With a shake of his head, Lewis began to stand up.

"Then I have no choice." Will pushed off from the dock and before Lewis had a chance to react he splashed water at the lankier form.

"Why did you do that?" Lewis stood there, furious, water dripping from his hair and clothes.

Will didn't respond, letting the time countdown in his head. Sure enough, on schedule Lewis was helpless as he turned to water, solidified, and then fall over the end of the dock into the water. He pulled himself to the dock and glared in Will's general direction as he wiped water out of his eyes.

"That was rude."

A laugh was all he got back. "Come on. You needed a little push. Now let's go. I want to show you some things."

_-h-2-o-_

"I've never seen so many fish in one patch of coral!" Lewis popped up in the moon pool, Will a few seconds ahead of him. "Did you find that recently, or on one of your free dives?"

"If by recently you mean since we became mermen, then that would be right." Will stretched his tail out and floated on his back as Lewis propped himself onto the underwater ledge by the rim of the pool.

It was a comfortable friendship between them. Lewis had gotten over Will forcing him into the water. He still wasn't all comfortable with the situation, but he didn't hate it as much. He had seen so much in the three hours that they had spent swimming and getting used to their new forms. Lewis found out how to swim at the super speed he had seen the girls use. And it was exhilarating. He could cover more ground than he ever could have in his boat. Plus all the fish he could see. He would be able to do so much more research. In fleeting, he thought that maybe everyone had been right. Maybe this was a good thing after all.

_-h-2-o-_

Ash and Emma were having one of their best dates ever. Ash had surprised her that morning with a phone call, asking her to meet him in front of the Café. After popping inside to say hi to Bella, Rikki and Zane, Ash had quickly blindfolded her and then led her down a path. Emma could tell at first that they were heading for the water. But then Ash took an unexpected twist and she was completely lost. After what felt like half an hour, Ash finally removed the blindfold and Emma couldn't help but gasp at the sight that was before her. Apparently Lewis wasn't the only one with a secret cove.

"I discovered this one day while riding," Will grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.

Emma could only nod as she took it all in. It was a small cove, easily passed over because it didn't hold much recreational value. But if you wanted a spot to think or plan the perfect date, this was it. A picnic blanket had been laid out on a patch of sand that quickly turned to waves. On four sides there were orange and yellow cliffs. Ash helped her climb down and then uncovered the picnic basket.

During their small lunch Emma discussed with Ash how he was doing.

"Not bad. I mean, it's still a little hard to believe. I guess it helps that the guys are going through the same thing. And of course you and the girls have experienced it all." He paused as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "I know it'll just take time. But so far it isn't half bad."

Emma smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you aren't in denial like Lewis."

"Has Cleo told you how he's doing since yesterday?"

Shaking her head, she reached for an orange slice. "No, not a word. I think she's tied up with family things today. And I haven't heard from Lewis."

"Maybe we should find him and see if we can convince him it's not as bad as it seems?" Ash stood up from the blanket. "Care to join me?"

Always eager for a swim, Emma let him pull her up and then they raced into the waves, letting the water pull them under as they went to go find Lewis and cheer him up.

Unfortunately it wasn't until a few hours later when they actually got to the searching part. Ash kept getting distracted. He liked swimming, sure, but he had never been as avid about it as Emma. He kept stopping to look at the sea life or move with the turtles. Everything seemed to fascinate him. Especially when Emma showed him how to ride the dolphins. The thrill of feeling so close to nature and the wildlife was inspiring. It was nice to shrug off their human concerns for a bit and to just be so carefree.

It was when Emma realized that they were near Mako that they remembered the real reason they had decided to go for a swim. Soon they were searching all of Lewis's known spots. But no luck. After nearly five hours of being in the water Ash was beginning to feel tired. Emma suggested they head back to Mako. It was closer than the cove they left the picnic items at. Using the power of their tails they flew through the water and were at the lone island in minutes. And to their surprise they weren't the only ones there.

"Lewis!" Emma had noticed the two tails as she swam through the underwater opening. She just hadn't expected one of them to belong to Lewis.

Ash watched his face redden slightly. "We've been looking all over for you."

The afore mentioned merman looked surprised. "Why?"

Emma swam up to join him at the ledge. "We wanted to see how you were."

A big laugh erupted from Will. "I told you we were all here for you."

A small, tentative smile showed on Lewis's face. "I know." He looked around at the other three. "It's just such a big change. I guess I just went a little insane, you know, having a hard time trying to take in everything."

"We all know how it is. I'm just glad to see you in the water." And Emma really was. She was worried for a bit there that they were going to go through the same thing they did with Cleo. That would not have been fun.

Lewis nodded. He was almost comfortable with the situation. Will had shown him that this was a good thing. If the girls could get used to it, then he definitely could too.

_-h-2-o-_

Zane and Rikki walked through the Café, cleaning the tables and putting up chairs. They had only closed a few minutes ago and both were anxious to get to their friends. Bella had already left, going to meet their friends at Cleo's house.

Rikki danced around the tables to the radio Zane had turned on. In a minute Zane had grabbed her hands and was spinning her between tables and twirling her in circles. But as they went around a still dirty table they bumped the edge, spilling cups of soda everywhere. Out of practiced reflex Rikki was able to jump out of the way in time. Zane wasn't as fortunate. Rikki watched as the soda splashed all over her boyfriend and seconds later a merman was lying on the floor in a puddle of sticky, bubbly liquid.

Laughter burst between the hands Rikki had clasped over her mouth, trying to hold it in. Glaring up at her, Zane attempted to try and pull himself away from the mess. Soon Zane lay exhausted and exasperated on the café floor, a soda trail left behind him.

"Do you think you could help by drying this stuff up?" Zane looked at Rikki with hopeful eyes.

"I can try." Rikki held out her hand to the mess on the floor and began using her power to make it evaporate.

Instead of making it easier to move around, it simply became a sticky mess of syrup and grime from the floor. Now Rikki began to get worried. How was Zane supposed to get out of this?

Zane had never in his life hated soda so much. They needed to finish closing down the café, but he was stuck as to the floor and as a merman. As his frustration began to grow he slapped his hand on the floor. As his fingers rubbed over the goo he noticed a strange feeling. He stared in wonder as the gooey soda by his fingers began to turn into water.

"Did you see that?" He looked up at Rikki.

Rikki stared at his hand, her mouth slightly gaped open. "Did you just do that?"

Zane felt a big smile spread across his face.

"Try it again." Rikki crouched down so she could see what happened better.

Holding his hand out, Zane concentrated on the mess and pictured what he wanted in its place. Water. And just like before, patches of the syrup slowly changed into puddles of water. Soon they had a routine down. Once Zane was done changing a patch, Rikki would quickly dry up the water. Half an hour after Zane had been drenched in soda, he was standing up on two legs once again and staring at his hands.

"I have a power!" Zane wrapped an arm around Rikki. "Come on, let's hurry and finish. We need to tell the others. If I have a power, then the other guys must have them too."

_-h-2-o-_

"Wait, what happened at the Café after I left?" Bella stared at Zane, a little skeptic.

"Zane found out he has a power." Rikki looked over at her boyfriend, her lips shaped in a smug looking grin.

After many questions about how and what they all demanded a demonstration.

Cleo had to pause though. "I think Kim had the last Soda today."

"What if we tried it with another drink? Or even just another liquid?" Lewis looked around from his seat on the couch. "Don't you think it might work?"

Cleo went to the fridge and grabbed the orange juice. After pouring a cup she set it down in front of Zane.

As they watched, he reached out his hand and concentrated on the juice. And just as before, the liquid turned into water. Everyone in the room began talking at once. Could he do it with any liquid? Was there a limit to how much he could change? Did it stay that way? But the most important question was voiced by Ash.

"What about us?" Ash looked around at the others. "I mean, Zane has a power. Does that mean Will, Lewis and I have our own powers?"

"Probably." Bella looked thoughtfully over at Lewis. "Do you guys want to try and see if we can figure out what those are?"

Will nodded. But Lewis was, of course, cautious and slightly wary.

"How did you girls figure out you own powers?" Ash wrapped his arms around Emma.

She looked up at him. "Well, I discovered mine in Cleo's room. She had found hers earlier that day and was showing Rikki and myself. The water she had been controlling was about to fall on us, and in surprise I just held up my hands and the water froze."

Cleo looked over at Zane. "I found mine out when you were being your old self and bothering Lewis and me." Zane looked puzzled. "You remember, right?"

He shook his head.

"You were on your bike and the fire extinguisher suddenly started shooting water all over the place." Zane's eyes grew bigger. Cleo smiled. "Now you do."

Rikki laughed. "I had almost forgotten about that."

Lewis stood up. "So strong emotions seem to trigger them the first time, and after that it's just a matter of learning how to control and use them."

Cleo poured three more glasses of orange juice and set them on the table next to where the glass of what was now water stood.

"Well," Emma pushed Ash towards the table. "Time to find out."

**Not as long as I wanted this part to be, but I thought I should put something up since I've been getting so many reviews and story alerts lately. I should have the next part up here real soon. Enjoy!**


	4. The Price of Power

**HEY! So, it has been forever since I have updated this story. But I have gotten some reviews lately and it has inspired me to start working on this story again. So far it's just one more chapter, but it's a good one and I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Once again, I do not own H2O. If I did, there would have been another season.**

Lewis sat back and watched as Will and Ash held their hands up to the glasses of orange juice, trying to elicit a reaction out of it. So far, neither of them had been having much luck. And Lewis, in his own right, didn't feel like becoming a spectacle in front of the girls.  
Cleo kept giving him a pointed look, almost asking with her eyes why he wasn't trying to find his own power. To be honest, Lewis didn't think he wanted to find his own power.  
Swimming with Will today had been interesting. His scientific brain had constantly gawked at the sea life he had been able to observe. The little he knew about the underwater ecosystem was completely overwritten. He was starting to realize how little he knew about this world he lived in. The excitement of discovery was almost enough to override his discomfort of suddenly being part fish. But even if he was eventually able to convince himself that it was okay to now be part of a different species, having his own magic ability was not going to mesh with him being a scientist.  
Lewis was used to being able to figure things out. He had to get to the bottom of the mystery. He had done countless of noninvasive tests on Cleo, Emma and Rikki to try to figure out how their mermaid abilities all worked. He had figured very little out. Really all they still knew was that water changed them from human to mermaid. He did know that their DNA was altered significantly and could be detected through blood work. It made them all more cautious and aware about getting sick or hurt.  
Lewis had accepted by this point that there was magic and that he would probably never be able to figure it out. But he did not find it acceptable to suddenly be such an integral part of it. No, Lewis wasn't finding that to be a good thing at all.  
Cleo watched the scowl as it deepened on Lewis's face. He wasn't looking happy or eager to join the other two boys. Ash and Will had accepted this new life with relative ease. Definitely a lot easier than she had. Cleo didn't want Lewis to go through what she had gone through. She wanted him to see that if he could just embrace being a merman and all that came with it, it would open the world to him in ways he didn't even know was possible.  
But how could she explain that to him? She herself had to have an almost near death experience to come to appreciate how wonderful being a mermaid was. She did not want Lewis to have to learn it the hard way. But nothing she or the others were saying seemed to be making much of a difference.  
Will had managed to pull him out of his disdain so that he didn't absolutely abhor his new situation. But he was still far from embracing it.  
Cleo felt a scowl growing on her own face. She was at a lost for how to help her boyfriend.

-h-2-o-

While Cleo and Lewis were stewing, the other six seemed intent to stay focused on Ash and Will who were trying to figure out what their powers were, or if they had any.  
Ash focused on how Lewis had said strong emotion seemed to be the key trigger. He focused on how much he adored Emma and how much he was learning to love the sea. The fear of his family finding out entered his mind plus the fear of discovery and not having a normal life anymore. All of the emotions combined and bubbled up in his chest and seemed to push out through his shoulder and down his arm, making his fingers tingle.  
The orange juice glass in front of him suddenly reacted to the tingling in his outstretched hand. As they watched the orange juice began to grow. It didn't turn to water or change temperature, it just seemed to double in size. Ash dropped his hand in shock as the orange juice surged over the top of the glass and spilled in a gush onto the table.  
Zane yelped and he and Rikki rushed over to hurry and clean up the mess before it got on Cleo's carpet. They worked as a team, Zane changing the orange juice to water and Rikki evaporating it just as quickly.  
Will stood there, awestruck, at what his friend had done.  
"Ash!" Emma stood next to him. "That was fantastic!"  
Ash beamed at the compliment. With a lopsided grin on his face he pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.  
"That felt so weird and yet so cool!" He kept an armed draped around Emma's shoulders as they sat back down on the couch.  
"That was awesome, Ash!" Bella gave him the upbeat compliment then looked at Will. "Come on. You can do it babe."  
Will concentrated on the orange juice glass, making a serious face like this was the most important moment of his life. Bella grinned. He always made that face when he was super intent on accomplishing something.  
Will didn't know what he was doing. He felt a little silly standing in front of his friends, his arm outstretched, and trying to control on a glass of orange juice. What if he just didn't have any powers? He would be okay with that, but he didn't want to disappoint Bella. And now that Ash and Zane both had discovered their powers, he could feel all eyes on him.  
He gulped in nervousness and tried to focus. This was one of those moments where he needed to use his dive training. Concentrate, channel his energy. Inward force. He wanted that orange juice to do something, the problem was he didn't really know what. He knew he wanted it to change, but into what? Could he make it freeze? Change into water? Would he be able to heat it up or turn it into a sort of jelly like his girlfriend?  
He didn't know. Perhaps he shouldn't focus so much on the orange juice, but rather just on the thought of change. He closed his eyes, arm stilled extended, and thought about what he wanted. At first, an image of Bella as a mermaid popped into his head. Yes, he did love that, but he needed to concentrate harder. Next he though of diving and how he no longer needed to hold his breathe. Then he thought of the strength he felt as he swam. The wonder of being a new part of the ocean world. The amazement filled him with a sense of belonging and peace, like he had finally found what he didn't even realize he had been searching for. That feeling seemed to grow and expand and fill all of his extremities, then it pulled together, rushed through his shoulder and jumped out his hand. At the gasp of his friends he opened his eyes and stared at the orange juice glass. Except, it was no longer an orange juice glass. In its place was a piece of coral in the exact same shape and color of the orange juice.  
Lewis was on his feet and next to him in a flash. "What just happened?"  
Will shook his head. "I was just concentrating, like you were all telling me to do." He gaped at the piece of coral. "Was that me?" DId I do that?"  
Bella was now standing next to him. She wrapped her hand in his, twining their fingers. "Will, that was amazing!"  
Stunned, Will kept staring at the coral. He watched as Lewis picked it up and examined it in the scientific way he looked at things.  
"It's actual coral." He looked up at Will and then back down. Then, with a look of complete frustration and maybe a bit of anger, he put it down harshly on the wooden table.  
He shook his head, looked over at Cleo with a pleading and desperate expression, and then walked out the door.  
"Lewis?" Cleo got up and chased after him.  
The good feeling Will had had seemed to sink into the pit of his stomach. He would have thought that since Lewis had been around this kind of stuff just as long as the girls that he would be the one who would be able to adjust to this the best.  
He looked down at Bella who was biting her lip in concern.  
Emma looked over at Rikki, who just shrugged her shoulders. "We need to give him time."  
Emma nodded. "I didn't think it would be this hard for him."  
Zane stood up and looked at the coral. "His brain just can't take it. He's always been too focused on the logical, even when mermaid magic is involved."  
Will sighed and tried to shake off the sudden heavy mood in the room.

All of them seemed to be thinking the same thing. What if Lewis couldn't adjust to all of this? What would they be able to do for their friend?

-h-2-o-

By the time Cleo had made it outside Lewis was gone. He had always been a fast walker and she knew she would never be able to catch him. The only thing she could do would be to call him later to check on him. He needed to stop pushing her away. They were in this together. And not just the two of them, but all eight of them. Now was when Lewis needed them most, but he was pulling away from it all. She sat on her front steps and stared out at the street. She had never felt at such a lost as to what to do before this moment.

-h-2-o-

The next few days passed differently for all of them. Zane and Rikki's relationship had grown tighter. Now that Zane was such a part of everything that was good in her life, their relationship had changed. Not only that, but Zane was changing. Rikki suspected that the ocean and just being a merman was having the same effect on him as it had on her.  
She could remember very clearly what kind of person she had been when she had first run into Emma. She had been rude and brash; a person who really only cared about herself. Being a mermaid and having friends who were really more like sisters had changed her into a better person. She was now more able to keep a level head in hard situations. She was more forgiving and not so quick to judge.  
Rikki was definitely grateful for Zane having become a merman. If it meant that her boyfriend became a better person and someone she really wanted to be with, then there was absolutely no downside to the situation for her.  
Zane was starting to notice that he was acting differently. Or, at least, that he was able to control his actions in a better way. He wasn't so quick to yell at people. His racing buddies noticed that he was acting more responsible towards the café and paying more attention to Rikki. It bothered him a little bit that being a merman was changing these sort of things about him. But he couldn't seem to bring himself to really care about it all that much. He was so focused on being careful at the café and around his friends so no one found out his new secret. Maybe one day he would take the time to really think about all the aspects of his new life, but for now he was just going to keep trying to get through every day like it was normal.

-h-2-o-

Bella and Will couldn't seem to be separated from the ocean. Every spare moment that they had was spent in the ocean. Will was avoiding his sister like a pro. Every time Sophie came around he was either studying his homework, or he simply wasn't there. Which was becoming a frequent thing for him. He just didn't like spending as much time on land anymore. He loved the ocean. And he loved spending time in it with Bella. Swimming by himself was still spectacular. But when his girlfriend was by his side, he felt like he had never felt before. It was like coming home. Everything fell into place and he didn't need anything else.  
He had planned a huge weekend get away for him and Bella. Just the two of them. They were going to have an overnight picnic on the far side of Mako where they wouldn't be disturbed. He was going to pack fish and fruit in a waterproof bag and set up a camp under the stars. In the daytime they would hike to the waterfall that fed the moonpool, and at dusk they would watch the sunset. And, of course, there would be plenty of swimming and exploring in between. Bella knew they were headed to Mako, but he was being good at keeping the rest of it a surprise.

-h-2-o-

Ash and Emma were keeping their lives normal as usual. Both of them had always been that way. Ash was one of the managers at Rikki's Cafe and kept to his schedule. Emma had taken up horseback riding competitively and was training for a competition this weekend. Their relationship was the same as usual. Ash had embraced Emma's mermaidness so readily when he first found out, and he accepted his own merman status so easily now. He had always been good at taking new situations in stride. It was just another thing for him. They had played around with his powers a little bit and both felt that he was comfortable with using it. All in all, life was good for them.  
Ash was still super worried about Lewis. He had tried to call him and talk to him, but so far he hadn't gotten a response. Since he didn't go to school with him, he had no chance to really ever corner him. Emma had tried to get information from Cleo about what was going on. But Cleo didn't know either. All they could do was hope that when he was ready, he would come back to them.

-h-2-0-

Lewis left Cleo's house because he had to. Watching Will change that orange juice into living Coral was too much. He had no explanation for it and he knew somehow that he never would. It infuriated him for some reason and he had know in that the moment that the best thing he could have done was to leave. He didn't want to take out his anger on his friends. That was best served being taken out on something that didn't argue back or get hurt by his words. He hated fighting with people, especially his friends. And right then he really didn't want them trying to talk him out of his anger.  
The anger had felt good at first. His anger he could control, quite unlike his current...situations. He could be angry and he could stay angry. But as he started walking away from Cleo's familiar house (he practically lived there on the weekends) he started to feel shame.  
Why couldn't he just convince himself that all of this was okay? Why did everything have to make so much sense and be so cut and dry? He didn't know and he shook his head at the lack of an answer. That was just who he was. Even after all the magic he had seen and all the crazy situations he had gotten into, he still couldn't figure it out.  
He sighed as he walked aimlessly around. He didn't focus on where he was going, simply letting his feet guide him as his thoughts ran in haphazardous directions. Soon, and without meaning to, he found himself at the old abandoned dock where he liked to go fishing. In surprise he found his tackle box and fishing pole lying where he had left it. He sat down next to them on the weathered and warped wood and stared at the sea beneath his feet. It would take only a drop of water to change him into a merman.  
He gave a yell of frustration and dropped his head in his hands. How had he let this happen? He should have protested more. He should have insisted that Cleo not go so he didn't have to. He wondered now if some part of him had know that night what they were getting themselves into. Had a part of him know what was about to happen?  
But he hadn't stopped it. In the end he had gone along just like everybody else. The repercussions of such an action was only now starting to dawn on him. How would he tell his parents? Would he ever be able to tell them? What about his plans to eventually go to America to study? He would eventually end up in a place where the ocean wasn't around. What kind of effect would that have on him?  
His life, Lewis decided, was ruined. Out of sheer anger her grabbed his tackle box and pole and chucked them into the lapping water at his feet. He realized his mistake as the water splashed up at him, dampening his legs. He sat there as his legs were replaced by a tail. It draped into the water, the edge of his fins dipping under the surface.  
Tentatively Lewis began to examine the scales. They had been wrong to assume at first that their tails were the same as the girls. The girls' coloring was that orange and yellow gold that glinted underwater. His was a darker almost copper color with pecks of dark gold mixed in here and there. More masculine for sure.  
Under his fingers the scales were smooth and sleek, meant to allow the water to move around him in perfect harmony. He was meant for speed. The muscles in his tail were strong and he was surprised at the control he had, down to his tail fin. He could move his fin in different ways; curl it, bend it or just let it do its own thing.  
How the whole anatomy thing worked he wasn't sure, but he did notice that he had a couple extra fins on the front, about mid-thigh down and in, that the girls didn't have. And his tail was longer than theirs. The questions of mermaid and merman anatomy began to awaken his curiosity. He wanted to figure this out. And Cleo had been right, of course. He now had a unique insider perspective he had never had before. He wanted to run tests on his own new abilities. Could he breathe forever underwater like the girls? Did his scales dry out? After he was out of the water how long did it take for him to get his legs back?  
Experiment ideas flooded his brain and an excitement began to fill his chest. He still was nowhere near okay with the idea that this was his life now. But this he could do. He let some of his anger go. He could control this.

-h-2-o-

Sophie sat in Will's boat house, waiting for her brother to get back home. He had been avoiding her. She knew that as sure as she knew that the sky was blue. She just couldn't figure out why. His interest in diving and training had practically disappeared since they had moved here. Originally she had thought this place would inspire him and urge him to work harder. Now it was having the absolutely opposite effect of what she wanted. Too much work and money had gone into him becoming a champion and she couldn't idly sit by and watch her brother throw it all away.  
After a while she heard laughter coming from the path to the boat house. One was Wills laugh, and the other one made her cringe. It was that girl, Bella. She was the biggest distraction of all. Actually, Sophie thought, she was probably the only real distraction Will had. Sophie needed to figure out a way to get Will to forget about the annoying blonde. If she could get Bella out of the picture, she was sure that Will would go back to his old self.  
A minute later the door opened and the two walked in. Their hands were entwined as usual and both had sappy grins on their faces. Will looked surprised to see Sophie sitting there, was he realized that she was there.  
"Sophie!" He dropped Bella's hand. "Hey, we though you were at the café."  
Bella looked nervous and seemed to hang back behind Will a bit. Bella had never liked Will's sister. She always seemed to be there just when Bella and him were getting close or having the best of times. And she had this gleam in her that made Bella think Sophie was always planning something. Really, she just made her very nervous.  
Sophie folded her arms and looked up at the two. "I asked Zane to have Ash cover my shift for the day. You are behind on your training and this seemed to the only time I would be able to catch you."  
Will's face went from tan to ghost pale at the mention of training. Of course Sophie wouldn't let it go. "Now's not a good time Soph. Bella and I have plans this weekend and we just stopped by to grab some things."  
His sister stood up, a glare and a glint in her eyes. "No, you don't Will. You have been acting crazy this last week. I have hardly seen you. We need to get back to your training. You have a huge dive competition in a couple of weeks and you're not prepared for it at all."  
Bella was at a loss for what to do. How could they convince Sophie to give it up? What excuse would make sense to her for Will's sudden lack of interest in his favorite hobby?

-h-2-o-

Will didn't know what to say. He didn't know if there was anything he could say that would get Sophie to stop. There was the truth, but he balked at that idea. He was not about to tell his sister. Not without letting the others know what he was doing first. It wasn't just his secret to tell, and he knew his sister was clever enough to put the pieces together to realize the truth about his friends too.  
"Why can't we take the rest of the season off?" He was going to have to try to reason with her.  
"Take the season off?" Sophie sounded incredulous. "Why on earth would we want to do that? If you take a season off now, you'll never be able to catch back up."  
"But he already works so hard." Bella tried to pipe in and help her boyfriend out. The look Sophie gave her made her want to hide in the coral.  
"And he needs to work harder. You've been a distraction to him ever since we moved here."  
"Hey!" Will grabbed Bella's hand. "Don't talk to Bella like that."  
Sophie looked smug and determined. "It's true though. Before you met her you were all about diving and pushing yourself to the limit. If you hadn't met Bella you would be in the water working on your breathing right now. She's nothing but a bad influence."  
Will clenched his free hand and pulled Bella closer to his side. His jaw was tight as he glared at his sister. But he didn't respond. It was true that Bella was a distraction at first. Now, though, it seemed to Will that Bella was his reason for getting up each day. He was just as important to her as breathing and swimming.  
"She is not a bad influence." He looked down at his girlfriend with a softness in his eyes. She smiled back, reassuringly. "She is the best influence. I've never been happier than when I'm with Bella."  
Sophie made a gagging sound. When did his brother become so infatuated. She shot daggers at Bella with her eyes. She was going to fix this. A plan began to form in her head. She would get Will to see the error of his ways. Both of their futures depended on it.

Sophie left right after that. Will had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he sat on his couch with Bella. "She's going to plan something." He held Bella in his arms. "Nothing we could possibly say would convince her that I just have no interest in diving anymore."  
Bella was quiet as she thought. "Maybe we should tell her the truth."  
Will shook his head. "Even if we only told her that I was a merman, she would figure out that the rest of us are. She's quick like that."  
Bella shook her head. "What do we do then?"  
Will looked dejected. He wished Lewis was here so he could ask him for help. He was so good at keeping all of this a secret. From the very beginning he seemed to know what to do keep others from finding out about the girls.  
Maybe now with there being eight of them instead of just four it was too much.  
He suddenly laughed and Bella looked at him in exasperation.  
"What in the world do you find funny about this situation?"  
"Bella, we practically have our own pod."  
She didn't get it. "Pod?"  
Will nodded enthusiastically. "You know, kind of like a Dolphin pod."  
Bella gave him a quirky smile and then laughed herself. "You're right. With there being eight of us, we do make up our own pod. A small one, but our own just the same."  
Will gave Bella a soft kiss on the lips and pulled her closer. "I am glad to be part of your pod, Bella."  
Bella sighed and melted at Will's kiss. She didn't even have words for how happy she was the Will was now such a big part of her life. All her life she had thought she would be alone. She didn't think she would ever have been able to trust a guy with her secret. When Will had found out, it had scared her. She had wanted to run away. Her parents, who knew about her of course, had encouraged her to work it out. Her friends would know what to do. They were like sisters to her. They would help her.  
And it had all worked out. Now she had the best boyfriend and he was a merman. He was the one person in her world that she could share absolutely everything with.  
Will broke the kiss and smiled at the dreamy look in his girlfriend's eyes. "So, are you ready for that date?"  
Bella nodded, eager. "So ready."  
He stood and grabbed the picnic basket that he had shoved into the fridge, the camping supplies, and shoved it all into a huge water proof canvas bag. Bella helped him carry it out to the dock and then they dropped it in. It floated slightly and waited for them to join it.  
Bella gave Will one last kiss and then dove in.  
Will stared at the ripples left behind from where Bella had slipped into the water. A huge smile covered his face. He would never be able to figure out how he had gotten so lucky. With one last look behind he dove into the water after her.

**I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm not being to harsh with Lewis am I? Anywho, please let me know what you thought and if you have any recommendations or ideas. Reviews are love and help me to update. Thanks!**


	5. The Unpredictable Tide

**First off, thank you so so much to all those that have favorite, followed or reviewed this story. It means so much to me that you guys like it and take the time to read it. Thank you for your patience in how slow I am to get chapters posted. I should hopefully have a little more time to work on it in a couple weeks as school ends. Just in case you were wondering: I do not own H2o. If I did, the events of this story would have been on TV long ago. Now, without further ado, enjoy!**

Cleo lay in her tub, her tail flopping over the end as it always did. When she finally had her own place she was going to have the biggest tub in the bathroom so she could actually bathe. Her ear buds were in as she jammed to her music, enjoying some relaxation time. She had originally wanted to go to the moon pool, but Will had asked all of them to give him and Bella some privacy for the weekend. This was at least the next best thing.

Despite trying to relax and the blasting music in her ears, her thoughts wiggled their way back to thinking about Lewis. She turned off the music as she began to worry about him. Again. She officially hadn't heard from him in 23 hours and, she glanced at the clock, 16 minutes. When she had called his house, his mom had thought that he was with her. She had checked the school, the library, even Rikki's Café. The last place she had looked had been the abandoned dock he loved to fish at. But he wasn't there either. It was like he had vanished.

And it worried her. She and the rest of the gang wanted to help him. But he had seemed to have rejected the whole idea of anything to do with being a merman. He had been there for her when she was first going through everything. All she wanted was to be there for him. And he wasn't letting her. She felt a sob rise in her throat as a few tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do.

Will and Bella were having the time of their lives. Just the two of them on Mako, with no one but nature around for miles. It was perfect and Bella couldn't have imagined the day going better. They had taken their time swimming there, trying to work out the remaining tension from their confrontation with Sophie. Bella knew how much Will was worried about it. Even though Sophie was creating a lot of stress in his life, he still loved his sister.

It didn't take them long though to stop thinking about their land problems and to just enjoy their time together. The ocean was so vast and Bella was teaching Will how to become an expert at reading underwater currents. She would point out important plants and coral, and when they would come up for air (he was still practicing on holding his breath indefinitely) she would name all the fish they had seen. When they spent time like this, the rest of the world seemed to drop away – as if it was only the two of them that existed. No one else in the universe. Will stuck close to Bella's side at all times. He felt slightly protective of her, even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself. But it was as if this deep connection had forged between them. He couldn't help but feel that he was there to watch over her. That in a way, she was his.

Bella had noticed Will staying close and the protective way he would watch her. And, though she wouldn't be admitting it out loud anytime soon, it was comforting to know that he had her back. Before she had met the girls, she had always felt so alone in the vast blue of her underwater world. The girls were great company, but they didn't fill a need that Will did. When she swam with him, when she spent time with him she felt complete. He was just as much a part of her life now as being a mermaid had ever been. She couldn't explain it, but it was as if she knew that they were two halves of whole that had always been meant to be put back together.

Lunch on the sand of the moon pool was divine. Will had packed all of Bella's favorite treats. There were mango tarts and mini strawberry parfait shots. The crab cakes were homemade and the sparkling cider was still chilled. They talked over lunch about the things that were concerning them the most. Graduation was coming up in two months and Will was trying to make up a science credit. Lewis had been helping him, but now they didn't know how that was going to go. Bella was excited to actually be finishing at a school for once. Her parents had planned on staying for at least a couple years longer so she felt like she could actually start looking into getting into university. There were a couple around the area and Cleo was going to help her start applying for them.

Will brought up some ideas of how they could persuade Sophie to get off their back.

"What if we told her that we had joined some sort of sport team?" He stuck another mango tart in his mouth.

"What kind?" Bella was staring out at the waves, her stomach contentedly full.

"I don't know. But it would have to be something that she couldn't get involved in. I wouldn't want her trying to somehow figuring out how she could coach us in it."

Bella thought hard. "What about sail boat competitions?" An idea was forming in her head. "That would explain why we are always gone. We could say that the two of us are practicing to compete in a cross world sail boat race." She looked over at Will excitedly. "My parents even have a sailboat if she wanted proof."

Will's face broke out in a huge grin. "That sounds perfect! We would be able to convince her that she couldn't come with us because of some sail boat rule and not allowing extra people on board."

Bella gave a little clap of her hands. "Perfect!" She leaned in and gave Will a kiss on the lips. "And it will give us the perfect reason to do some more exploring at odd times in the day." She gave him a sly look and blushed.

Will smiled back at his girlfriend. "Bella, can I ask you something?"

The sudden seriousness in her boyfriend's voice caught her off guard. She sat back a little bit and nodded at him. "Of course you can." Her heart gave a little flutter.

With careful movements Will pulled a small wrapped box out of his back pocket. It was flat and square and fit in the palm of his hand. They were both sitting on the large beach blanket, but Will managed to maneuver onto his knees. "Do you love me Bella?" There was a note of nervousness in his voice; a slight tremor.

Bella simply nodded. "Yes, Will. You know I love you. I wouldn't spend every possible second with you if I didn't."

The biggest of smiles covered Will's face for a quick moment and then he took a deep breath. "Bella Heartly, I love you more than I love diving, more than I love being part fish." He pulled his hand forward and opened the small black velvet box. A small silver ring with a perfect blue pearl for the center instead of a diamond sat inside. "Bella, will you be my wife?"

Lewis didn't know where he was. He tried to take stock of his surroundings but his head was pounding and it was too dark for him to see anything around him. He tried to sit up but found he was floating in water already. He remembered swimming, but he couldn't think of how he ended up in this small and black space. Blinking rapidly he carefully extended his arms out around him, trying to gage where he was. At full arm length his hands ran into thick, cool glass. He turned in a circle and found that the glass circled all around him, as if he was in a large tube. He let himself sink down as far as he could and found there was glass under him as well. He swam towards the top. His head breached water for about a foot and then there was some sort of mesh covering over the top of the tube.

He was in a tank. And not a very big one. Lewis's heart pounded in his chest. How did he end up in a tank, and more importantly who had put him there? He could feel himself starting to panic and he went for the surface instinctively. He gulped in lungful after lungful of air, trying to calm down. The water sloshed around him as if the tank was being moved. Great. Not only was he stuck in a tank, he was also being taken somewhere. Great, just great.

There was a sudden jerking motion and Lewis slapped into the glass, sinking part way under water. His shoulder hit the hard surface and he winced. A sudden banging sound came from nearby and he tried to flatten himself against the bottom of the tank. Maybe he should pretend he was still unconscious? He shut his eyes quickly and let himself become neutrally buoyant, simply floating in the water. A large clanging came from behind him. Suddenly there was light everywhere as the back of the truck his tank was in was lifted up. It took all of his control to not turn around and look at who was there. But he didn't need to. Even through the water he would never be able to forget that voice.

"Well, well, well. I didn't believe the message to be true."

Lewis couldn't stop himself. He whirled in the water to face his kidnapper. As the water settled her features became clear.

"Hello Lewis. Looks like you've been up to some things since I've been gone." Dr. Denman stood there with the smuggest of looks on her face, arms crossed over her chest.

Lewis felt his heart sink to the bottom of his fins. This was worse than he had originally thought.

**Hey lovely readers! So I know this chapter is so much shorter than they normally are. And trust me, I definitely wanted to keep writing. But the sun is about to come up and I need some semblance of sleep. I hope you guys enjoy it irregardless. It's taken me so long to update simply because I didn't know what direction I wanted to take. What do you think? Give me suggestions or comment on how the events are unfolding. Cliff hanger! Will Bella say yes? How did Dr. Denman get a hold of Lewis? I hope to update soon. Thanks!**


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